Nov. 1, 1901.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
333 
To the Editor. 
CACAO PLANTING IN COSTA RICA. 
[A melancholy interest attaches to the following 
letter from Co^ta Rica, the writer — a cacao planter 
tliere — being the son of the late Rev. S. Coles, to 
who^e addre.ss the tninuscript came. — Bd. T.A.I 
Costa Rica, August 10. h, 1901. 
(To the Editor of the " Tropical Agriculturist,'' 
Colombo, Ceylon.) 
Dear Sir, — In reply to your foot-note appended 
to my article " Coffee in Costa Rici," I give you 
the benefit of what knowledge I have been able 
to acquire about Cacao in this country. What is 
most surprising about it is that vvith such faci- 
lities as exist for its production, it should not 
be able to supply even the local martet, which 
is a very small one, a few hundred quintals 
sufficing to supply consumption throughout the 
republic : one may go to several stores in the 
cities and villager and enquire for cacao in quite 
a few before he will find it, and then most likely 
have to pay about one colon per pound of native 
best, lower grades from Colombia and Ecuador 
selling for 60 centimos upwards, it is generally 
supposed that there are some millions of acres 
specially adapted for the cultivation of cacao in 
the following districts of the republic, Golfo Dula, 
El General, Talamanca, San Carlos, and Matina, 
the last named being the only one with railroad 
advantages. This, however, should not be consi- 
dered much of a drawback to the others on taking 
into account the high prices realised in the capital. 
The principal hindrance to the development of 
cacao culture on lands knov.'n to be of the best, 
is that unwise legislation has allowed anybody 
with or without intentions of cultivation to grab 
up enormous tracts of land wherever they chose 
by merely "denouncing" them according to a 
prescribed law : 99 out of 100 who did so, are 
doing nothing with the land, and are only waiting 
or somebody to turn up some day, and pay them 
a big price for it, meanwhile they are stubbornly 
fighting any small road-tax that is levied once or 
twice a year : the only lands of account that a 
poor man can work on are small lots of 50 hectares 
a piece, along the sea-coast or banks of navigable 
rivers known as the maritime mile, which can be 
taken up and held according to what is known 
as squatter's right, which is indisputable to all- 
comers as long as it is not abandoned for over one 
year. 
The Government is just beginning to offer 
some inducement to the culture of cacao by giving 
premiums of 30 centimes per tree on what is in 
production, Mrs. Arnold of Limon thereby coming 
in for a bonanza of some 1,000 colones on her 
farm in Matina: Messrs. Codleman and Heinsen, 
who have been planting for the past seven years in 
San Carlos, also received a considerable benefit 
from the same source. This coming season should 
give them splendid returns, and they are well- 
prepared for it, having put in a great deal of 
drying apparatus this year, as well as a tramway 
to different parts ol their estate. 
It is to be regretted that cacao will not flourish in 
the most populated part of the country, the cen- 
tral plateau, and it is difficult to foretell when 
42 
conditions will change for the better as regards 
the present tenure of lands. Many are looking 
hopefully for the opening of the Nicaragua canal, 
which they believe will be the means of foreign 
capital developing the enormous plains of San 
Carlos, and give a river and ocean outlet for all 
products. In the hands of the present owners the 
land can never improve. 
I am indebted to Mr. Flugo Karlsen of San 
Carlos for the following details of a farm of 80 
acres, that has been run for several years by Mr. 
W. Armstrong of Bluefields, Nicaragua, and' hope 
that the same may be of interest to your readers. To 
abbreviate as much as possible I will summarize 
small items by stating that they call for:— gather- 
ing, planting, and taking care of seed ; planting 
cleaning, pruning, marketing of pro.luce ; tools, 
houses, foreman's salary, mules and equipments, 
boats, drying houses, stationery, etc ; values are 
given in American gold. 
First year.— Cutting down forest, planting and 
cleaning once of 12,000 banana suckers, gathering 
and planting 10 000 rubber seeds, gathering and 
planting of 13,000 cacao seeds, erection of houses 
etc. ' 
Second year. — Transplanting and clean- 
ing rubber and cacao, marketing of 
15,000 bunches of bananas 
Third year.— Cleaning, replanting, and v 
marketing of bananas 
4th year, cleaning, replanting and marketing 
of bananas 
5th 
year 
do 
6th 
year 
do 
7th 
year 
do 
8th 
year 
do 
9th 
year 
do 
10th 
year 
do 
do 
do 18,000 lb 
do 30,000 lb 
do 48,000 lb 
f 60,000 lb 
do^ 15,000 lb 
1. 19,200 lb 
do 60,090 lb 
10,000 lb of cacao 
do 
do 
do 
$2,957 
1,832 
1,845 
1,920 
2,405 
2,575 
2,805 
3,425 
do 
rubber 
rubber , 
cacao 4,476 
f [ 4,365 
■J 
2nd year, 
by sale 
3i'd year do 
4th year do 
5th year do 
do 
6th year do 
do 
Total of expenses for ten years. 
Proceeds, 
.$28,604 
7th year 
8th year 
9th year 
uo 
tOch year do 
do 
of 15,000 
20,000 
20,000 
20,000 
10,000 
20,000 
18,000 
12,000 
30,000 
6,000 
4,800 
15,000 
60,0n0 
19,200 
60,000 
bunches of bananas 
do 
do 
do 
lb cacao 
bunohea of bananas 
lb cacao 
bunches of bananas 
lb cacao 
bunches of bananas 
lb cacao 
lb rubber 
lb cacao 
lb rubber 
lb cacao 
at 16c 
do 
do 
do 
at 18c 
at I6c 
atl8c 
at 16c 
at 18c 
at 16c 
'at 18c 
at 60c 
at 18o 
at 60c 
at 18e 
2,400 
3,209 
3,200 
3,200 
1,800 
3.200 
3,240 
1,920 
5,400 
960 
8,640 
9,000 
10,800 
11,520 
10,800 
Total of prooeeds...|79,280 
Total of expenses. ..$28,604 
Profits. ..$50,676 
I would ren)ark that these are favorable returns, 
all of which cannot be obtained in some parts 
as represented here ; in the case of bananas 
nothing could be sold to advantage where the 
disf-ance from (he port or railroad is great. 
The Bhiefields climate must always be a d?-aw- 
bick to foreign settlement, whatever advantfiges 
it may have in the question of cli-ap labor ; otlier- 
wise I see no reasons why similar results should 
not be obtained in favorable districts in this 
republic— I remain, yours truly, E. A. C. 
